24 Sept 28 - Oct 12 , 2018 VOL . 37 • ISS . 21

FRESHWATER REPORTS :

CONTINUED FROM PG 19

NEW MELONES LAKE

Large Rainbows Begin to Show

ANGELS CAMP – The large New Melones rainbow trout that anglers have been seeing for the last 18 months are beginning to appear after a lull of a couple months .

“ The trout bite is not off the charts , but when you can land a 7 lb . 5 oz . rainbow , as Ron Chaney did on a recent trolling trip , you have something to brag about ,” said Gene Hildebrand of Glory Hole Sports in Angels Camp .

Marvin Wells of Sonora also successfully battled a chunky 7 lb . 14 oz . rainbow while trolling with a firetiger Needlefish at 42 ft . depth up the Stanislaus River arm of the lake .

“ Anglers who have caught kokanee have reported the males are beginning to show the hooked jaw characteristic that comes on during their third summers end . The fishing is pretty much done for the season ,” said Hildebrand .

The bass bite at New Melones is excellent , but you need to move around a lot until you find the schools of shad the bass are targeting .

“ I was on the lake every day this past week , sometimes even twice a day , and the bass are on the move .,” said John Liechty of Xperience Fishing Guide Servic . “ One day , you can find them on a spot in the morning , and they are gone in the

afternoon , but back on the original spot in a few days . The fish are moving like crazy , and it comes down to the shad .”

“ The bass are sitting on the outside of the shad schools and suspending , and numbers are taken on plastics on the drop-shot . You will bump up to a larger grade of bass with plastics on a Texasrig or shakey head along with a jig , but you will sacrifice numbers for quality ,” he tipped .

“ Slow-rolling a swimbait is also effective for larger fish , but once again , the numbers are down . The bass are holding anywhere from 15 to 35 feet and sometimes shallower , and we are finding them throughout the lake in various spots ,” he concluded .

Big fish honors go to Macie Cranford of Plymouth , who landed a 14 lb . catfish while fishing by the spillway .

New Melones Lake level is currently at 1034.75 Water temperature across the lake is 76 degrees

Tuttletown ’ s boat launch ramp will be changing to the middle ramp as the top ramp goes out of the water at 1031.00 elevation . The middle ramp will be used for elevations from 1036.00-942.00 .

The Glory Hole Point side of the lake has the high ramp working until the lake elevation hits approximately 1025.00 and at that point the middle ramp will be in use from elevation 1028.00 to 940.00 . Another 9.25 ft . will have to be drawn from Melones before the middle ramp comes into use . Angels Cove ramp is in use from elevation 1088.00 - 975.00 .

PARDEE LAKE

Smallmouth and Largemouth Bass Are Hitting Crankbaits , Drop Shot Rigs

IONE – If you want to hook smallmouth and largemouth bass at Lake Amador , throw out jerkbaits , crankbaits and drop shot rigs in 10 to 30 feet of water , reported Sylva Rogers of the Rocky Mountain Recreation Company .

For example , John and Dawn were out

This Folsom smallmouth couldn ’ t lay off a drop shot rig during an early August outing . Despite the fact that the water level has been on the drop , the bass action remains solid offshore .

Photo courtesy of PAGANELLI ’ S BASS FISHING EXPERIENCE , Sacramento .

fishing the south end of the lake using jerkbaits on a recent trip . “ They caught and released a good number of bass , with the largest one being 2.5 lbs ,” said Rogers .

Trout fishing is also productive for experienced anglers trolling on the lake . “ Trollers were getting the fish at 65 feet deep a couple of weeks ago ,” said Rogers . “ Now they ’ re trolling about 40 to 55 feet deep with Speedy Shiners in the south end of the lake .”

Lowell and Terry caught three trout up to 3 pounds and one 11 inch kokanee . They trolled on the lake ’ s south end with pink hoochies and Uncle Larry ’ s spinners , tipped with white corn .

“ Bank fishermen reported catching limits of 1 to 4 lb . rainbows on Saturday and Sunday after the Friday plant of 1,000 pounds of trout ,” noted Rogers . “ They experienced the top action at Rainbow and Porcupine points .”

The lake management has stocked a total of 46,750 pounds of rainbows to date this year .

Trollers are still picking up kokanee as the fish move into spawning mode . “ Two anglers reported nailing 3 kokanee to 15 inches while using worms last weekend ,” she noted .

Catfish action remains solid both day and night at the Woodpile , near the

rigger at 15 feet deep . Moving quickly , I dropped the spoon down to 23 feet and was rewarded with an almost instant hook up . The rainbow put up a solid fight . As I fought the determined trout I had to keep peddling fast enough to maintain forward progress in order to keep the kayak straight . When the beautiful rainbow boiled to the surface I lifted it aboard and measured it on my ruler . It was 15 inches long . I quickly let the trout go and got the Speedy Shiner back down into the strike zone . Over the course of the next half hour I caught three more rainbows that ranged from 16 to 18.75 inches . I ’ ve been fishing French Meadows Reservoir for over 20 years . I ’ ve caught a lot of rainbows at the lake but prior to my most recent trip I ’ d never caught one at the lake that topped 16 inches . The four wild rainbows I caught last Saturday were among the best I ’ ve seen come out of the lake . I would have like to have taken some photos of the trout , especially the 18 plus incher , but with the challenges created by the wind photography was off the menu ! What Next ? I ’ ve enjoyed some pretty good trout action

at several different lakes over the past month or so and fall fishing hasn ’ t even kicked into gear yet . Water temperatures are just starting to come down at NorCal lakes and it won ’ t be long until trout fishing is absolutely fantastic ! During a typical fall , I spend a lot of time hunting and I plan on hunting deer and bears this fall , but not as much as I have in the past . My goal is to do more fishing this fall for a variety of species , but front and center among them will be trout . If you ’ re planning some trout fishing adventures this fall , but aren ’ t sure where to go , perhaps my plans will help inspire you ! At some point , I ’ m going to haul my kayak down to Lake Don Pedro . The reservoir has a robust rainbow population and fish topping 3 pounds are common . Recently Captain Monte Smith of Gold Country Sportfishing has been putting his clients of some very nice rainbows at Don Pedro , but the fish are still deep with the best fish coming out of 80 to 90 feet of water . As the surface temperature comes down , those rainbows are going to come up . I ’ m going to keep my finger on the pulse of this bite and hopefully will plan my visit when

steelhead ? If any of the species mentioned are on your fall menu , be sure to stop by a Fisherman ’ s Warehouse location during their Salmon , Steelhead & Striper sale . Rods , reels , baits , lines , advice and more will be available during the sale … The sale features hard hitting savings on way too many products to mention here . Take a peek at the Fisherman ’ s Warehouse ad in this edition of the Fish Sniffer and you ’ ll get the idea ! Fisherman ’ s Warehouse boasts three locations . In Manteca they are located at 2201 E . Yosemite Ave . ( 209 ) 239-2248 . In Sacramento find them at 9035 Folsom Blvd . ( 916 ) 362-1200 . In San Jose , Fisherman ’ s is at 1120 Branham Lane ( 408 ) 266-6209 . the trout are in the top 20 . In the more immediate future I ’ ll be fishing Lake Almanor and Eagle Lake with my wife Gena . Gena now has her own Hobie kayak and is anxious to get her trout on ! At both Almanor and Eagle the trout fishing is in transition from a summer to a fall pattern . “ The trout here are Almanor are averaging around 3 pounds and much bigger rainbows are possible ,” reported Captain Bryan Roccucci of Big Daddy ’ s Guide Service . “ Trout that had been feeding primarily on insects all summer are now starting to target pond smelt . As the pace of the feeding picks up , you ’ ll be able to successfully troll faster and faster and closer to the surface .” At Eagle , the trout remain in the lake ’ s south basin , but they are feeding within 15 feet of the surface . There is still lots of feed available to the trout and the water clarity is off a bit , but the action is getting better almost daily with both worm soakers and trollers hooking

rambunctious ‘ bows that range up to 3 plus pounds . I haven ’ t caught an Eagle Lake rainbow in quite some time , so I ’ m really looking forward to fishing the legendary north state trout factory . Perhaps the culminating event of the fall for me will come in November . The Fish Sniffer ’ s Wes Ward and I have been planning a 4 day camping and kayaking trip to Lake Shasta . We are going to dump our kayaks

Jonathan ( right ) gets a helping hand from Bryan Roccucci showing off the incredible Almanor brown that he successfully battled .

Photo courtesy of BIG DADDY ’ S GUIDE SERVICE , Quincy .

Trout ~ Kokanee ~ Salmon ~ Shad

18 Proven Kokanee / Trout Dodgers !

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OFFICIAL SPONSOR into the lake at Jones Valley or Silverthorn and then spend our time targeting both trout and bass in the Pit and Squaw Creek Arms . We are hoping to stay on the move , camping in a new location every night . I ’ m even planning on stashing my 12 gauge in the kayak just in case we stumble on some turkeys . I can tell you from firsthand experience , that turkey breast roasted over an open fire is pretty darn good !

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